Veteran is defined by the Department of
Veteran Affairs as "a person who served in the active military, naval,
or air service and who was discharged or released under conditions other
than dishonorable." This definition will include all people who
entered into active military service and than separated, no matter how
long the period of service was.

Type of benefits available to a Veteran will
vary depending on the period of service, length of time in service,
medical conditions occurring during service or after service. They
can include, but are not limited to:

Burial in a National Cemetery

VA Health Care

VA Dental Care

Hearing Aids, Glasses

Service-Connected Disability

Non-Service-Connected Wartime Disability Pension

Additional funds due to the Veteran's need of Aid
& Attendance or Housebound

Education

Vocational Rehabilitation

VA Home Loan Program

Automotive Grant

Specially Adaptive Housing Grant

Disabled Veterans Life Insurance

Please note that all VA Benefits will have
period of service, length of service and discharge requirements.

We can assist you with applying for a
discharge upgrade by completing DD Form 293, Application for the Review
of Discharge or Dismissal from the Armed Forces of the United States or
DD Form 149 Application for Correction of Military Records.

All Veterans discharged from active duty
under conditions other than dishonorable and service members who died
while on active duty may be eligible for burial in a National or State
Veteran Cemetery. If you entered into active service after Sept
1980 (Enlisted) or Oct 1981 (Officer) you must have completed 24
consecutive months of the full period of active duty. National
Guard and Reservists are eligible if they were entitled to or would have
been entitled to retirement pay at time of death.

Yes. The VA can reimburse part or all
of the cost for burial of a Veteran up to a set limit, if the Veteran is
receiving or entitled to receive VA Benefits. First, the Veteran
must be receiving or entitled to receive VA Benefits. The amount
of reimbursement will be based upon the VA determination as to the cause
of death. If the cause of death is determined as Service Related,
reimbursement can go up to a $ 2,000 limit. If the cause of death
is determined as Non-Service Related, reimbursement can go up to a limit
of $ 300 toward burial preparation and $ 300 toward the purchase of a
plot.

Yes. If the Veteran meets the criteria
listed above. If the Veteran is placed in a National or State
Veteran Cemetery, the headstone or grave marker will be ordered by the
cemetery staff. If the Veteran is placed in a private cemetery,
the family will need to complete a VA Form 40-1330 to obtain this
benefit. The VA Form 40-1330 will need to be reviewed by the
private cemetery to ensure that the headstone/grave marker chosen will
meet the requirements of the park. This application may be obtained
from most local funeral homes, from the Internet at (http://www.va.gov/vaforms/),
or from our office. Additionally, a copy of the Military Discharge
is required at the time of application.

The VA Health Care System categorizes all
Veterans into 1 of 8 priority groups. These priority groups are as
listed below. Currently the VA Health Care System will allow some
NEW Priority 8 Veterans into the system. If you are currently
enrolled and receiving VA Health care, you will not be disenrolled from
the system.

There are two income limits set by the VA
Health Care System. These limits are used to determine which
category a Veteran will be placed in and if they will be charged the
co-pay.

Financial Income Threshold. This threshold is a nationally set
limit and is used to determine the cutoff at which no co-pays would be
charged. Total household income is considered with an adjustment
for number of dependents living in the home. For current income
limit use this Internet link (http://www.va.gov/healtheligibility/Library/pubs/VAIncomeThresholds/)

Geographic Means Test (GMT) Income Threshold. This threshold is
used to distinguish Veterans that will be allowed in the VA Health Care
system under Priority 7 and those Veterans that are not allowed in under
Priority 8. Total household income is considered with adjustment
for geographical area and number of dependents living in the home.
For current geographical income limit use this Internet link (http://www.va.gov/healtheligibility/Library/pubs/GMTIncomeThresholds/)

The Veterans Benefit Administration has two
main programs for Veterans and two main programs for a Surviving Spouse,
Parents, or Dependent Children of a Veteran. These four programs
consist of the following:

Veteran's
Disability compensation due to medical condition/injury occurring
in/coincidental to Military Service

Veteran's
Wartime Pension due to any medical condition, injury, or age above 65
which is permanent in nature and prevents the Veteran from obtaining
employment

Surviving
Spouse, Parents, or Dependent Children DIC Benefits are benefits paid to
the Veteran's Surviving Spouse, Parents, or Dependent Children due to
the death of the Veteran for a Service Related reason.

Surviving
Spouse Widow's Pension is a benefit paid to the Veteran's spouse due to
any medical condition, injury, or age above 65 which is permanent in
nature and prevents the Surviving Spouse from obtaining employment

There are three things we must substantiate
before the VA will grant Service-Connected Disability. They are:

Exposure/Condition/Event
which occurred during Military Service. In most cases, medical
conditions occurring during military service are documented within the
Veteran's Service Medical Records. If documentation never occurred
or the medical records are missing, we look for alternate sources to
validate the condition. These sources can include personal
statements from a Combat Veteran concerning a Combat Injury, statements
from buddies or family members that knew of the condition, private
medical records documenting medical treatment received during Active
Military service. Additional, there are some conditions that are
caused by exposure to Acoustic Trauma (high noise), Agent Orange, Atomic
Radiation, Chemicals, Asbestos, and Combat during the course of assigned
military duty which are not documented during service. If this is
the case, proof of exposure will need to be provided.

Current
Condition. Documentation proving that there is a current
condition. Typically this is provided within the current medical
treatment record which documents the diagnosed condition. A
claimant must substantiate that there is a current condition in order
for the VA to grant Service Connection. No current problem or
condition, No claim.

Nexus/Link
between the "In-Service" Exposure/Condition/Event and the Current
Condition. There are two ways to provide this Nexus/Link:

Provide a copy of all medical records that
document continual treatment for this condition. Records must be
from time of separation to present.

A doctor's medical opinion which states the
"In-Service" Exposure/Condition/Event is "as likely as not" (more than
50% probability) the cause of or aggravation of the current condition.

There are two approaches you can take
depending on when the decision was made.

If
the date on the decision is less than one year old, a Notice Of
Disagreement (NOD) can be filed with the VA Regional Office who rendered
the decision. Within this NOD, you must state specifically which
portion of the decision you are in disagreement with and the reasons for
the disagreement. Additionally, direct your response to rebut the
reason or reasons the VA used to deny Service-Connected Disability.
I.E. if the VA denied because there is no documentation of a current
condition, you must obtain current medical records. If the VA
denied because there was no documentation of "In-Service"
Exposure/Condition/Event, you must provide that information. If
the VA denied because there is no Nexus/Link between the "In-Service"
Exposure/Condition/Event and the Current Condition, you must obtain and
provide a Nexus statement from a doctor.

If
the date on the decision is more than one year old, a request to reopen
the decision is required. A decision can be reopened under two
conditions. They are:

Based on New & Material evidence.
"New"
means something that the VA has not seen and "Material" means that it
addresses the reason for the original denial.

Based upon a Clear and Unmistakable Error (CUE)
by the VA during the original decision process. When reopening
under a CUE it must be proven that, based upon records contained within
the VA Claim Folder, the VA overlooked information or failed to
correctly apply VA rules at the time of that decision.

No. The VA will not grant a
Service-Connected Disability based ONLY on exposure. What is
needed to file a claim is a current medical condition. The medical
condition resulting from exposure can be claimed, but the exposure alone
cannot.

Yes. There are many medical conditions
the VA recognizes as a direct result of being exposed to Nuclear
Radiation. This list is divided into two categories based upon
documented test involvement, occupation assignment to Japan, and amount
of any other radiation exposure. The conditions are divided as
follows:

Note
2: For purposes of this section, the term acute and subacute peripheral
neuropathy means transient peripheral neuropathy that appears within
weeks or months of exposure to an herbicide agent and resolves within
two years of the date of onset.

There are times that medical conditions get
worse. If this has occurred, a request for a Reevaluation of the
condition can be submitted and an increase to the disability can be
granted. This request can be submitted any time the Veteran feels
the condition has gotten worse. A request for reevaluation must be
submitted in writing to the VA. The VA Form 21-4138 can be used
and may be obtained from the Internet at (http://www.va.gov/vaforms/)
or from our office.

Possibly. The benefit you're referring to is
Individual Unemployability (I.U.). The purpose for this benefit is
to compensate a Veteran at the 100% rate for service related medical
conditions that are rated less than 100%, but prevents the Veteran from
obtaining and maintaining "Substantial Gainful Employment." This
is an incredible benefit, but there are several requirements that need
to be met:

Unable
to work due solely to Service Related Disabilities (age is not a factor)

Left
last employment due to Service Related Disability

or unable to obtain employment due to a Service Related Disability

Overall
VA Service-Connected disability rating at the following:

One SC Disability condition rated at the 60%
level or higher

Two or more SC Disability conditions with an
Overall Disability rating at or above the 70% level with at least one of
the conditions rated at the 40% level

There are occasions in which a disability
rated below these guidelines will prevent employment. In these
cases, a request for special consideration by the VA is submitted.

It is important to file a claim if you are
disabled due to an injury or disease incurred in or aggravated by your
military service. Service-Connected disabled veterans are afforded
some benefits not offered to military retirees. By law, the
payment of VA compensation benefits received will reduce the amount of
Military Retired pay received. Recent law changes have modified
this old standing statute. Currently there are two programs that
can return full retired pay benefits to a military retiree. One of
these programs is known as Combat Related Special Compensation (CRSC)
and the other program is Concurrent Retirement Disability Pay (CRDP).
Under CRSC any Service-Connected disabilities which are deemed combat
related by the Military (DOD) that portion of the retirement pay will be
returned to the retiree. Under CRDP a retiree must have an overall
service-connected disability rating at or above 50% level which will
allow the Military (DOD) to return the full retirement pay.

Law prohibits payment of VA compensation and
military disability severance pay for the same medical condition or
disability. VA compensation will be withheld on a monthly basis
until the total amount of military severance pay has been recovered.

Widow's Pension is a monthly benefit paid to
a Surviving Spouse or Dependent Child when the VA determines the
Veteran's death was NOT the result of their Military Service. The
Veteran must have met the criteria listed above for a Wartime Pension
and the Surviving Spouse's income must be below the VA prescribed
limits.

Possibly. There are several different
types of education programs offered by VA and the State of California.
Each program has different eligibility criteria and time limits.
The programs are as follows:

Chapter
30. Montgomery GI Bill. (Veterans & Surviving Spouse)

Military Member died on Active Duty

Veteran entered into military service after June
1985

Continuous active service for 2 years (for a 3
year commitment) or 3 years (for a 4 year commitment)

Character of discharged is Honorable

10 year time limit (extensions may be granted)

Chapter
31. Vocational Rehabilitation and Training (Veterans only)

Veteran has been rated Service-Connected
Disability at the 20% level (10% with serious employment handicap)

Veteran who died due to Service-Connected
condition or is awarded 100% Service-Connected disability

Service Member who died on Active Duty

Service Member listed for more than 90 days as
currently MIA or POW status

Children aged under 26 (extensions may be
granted)

Surviving Spouse has not remarried

10 year time limit based upon dated VA Award
letter (extensions may be granted)

20 year time limit based from date of Active Duty
death

California
College Fee Waiver

This benefit is the waiver of mandatory
system-wide fees at any campus of the University of California (UC),
California State University (CSU), and California Community College (CC)
and is divided into 4 different plans. These plans are listed
below:

Plan A

Child between the age of 14 and 27 of a Wartime
Veteran who died due to Service-Connected condition or is awarded 100%
Service-Connected disability

Spouse or Registered Domestic Partner of a
Wartime Veteran who is awarded 100% Service-Connected disability

Unmarried Spouse or un-terminated Registered
Domestic Partner of a Wartime Veteran whose death has been rated as
Service-Connected

Any dependent of a Veteran who is declared MIA or
POW

Specified dependents of Registered Domestic
Partner

Veteran must have survived at least 1 day during
a war period

Cannot be used in conjunction with VA Chapter 35
Benefits

Plan B

Child of a Veteran who has a Service-Connected
disability (0% or higher), had a Service-Connected Disability at time of
death, or died of service related causes

Child's annual income for last tax season is
below state set threshold

Child can received both VA Chapter 35 and this
benefit

Specified dependents of Registered Domestic
Partner

Plan C

Child, Surviving Spouse, or Registered Domestic
Partner of a member of the California National Guard who died in line of
duty, died due to Service-Connected disability, or is permanently
disabled due to an event that occurred while in service to the state

The VA Home loan is designed to help service
members, veterans, reservists, and unmarried surviving spouses in buying
a home that they otherwise would not be approved for. In this
program the VA guarantees a portion of the home loan. This
guarantee allows the loaning institution to approve a home loan to the
recipient with little or no money down. If the loaning institution
is forced to foreclose and does not recoup the full amount of the
outstanding debt, the VA will reimburse the remaining balance up to a
preset limit. At this point the service member, veteran, reservist, and
or unmarried surviving spouses is responsible to repay the VA the amount
paid to the loaning institution.

Minimum of 24 continuous months or full period (at least 181 days) for
which they are called to active service (except when discharge was due
to headship, convenience of government, reduction-in-force, certain
medical condition, or service-connected disability)

Gulf War (active duty after Aug 1990 and Date To
Be Determined)

Minimum of 24 continuous months or full period (at least 90 days) for
which they are called to active service (except when discharge was due
to headship, convenience of government, reduction-in-force, certain
medical condition, or service-connected disability)